Local shops offer Christmas gifts that taste as good as they look
No need to cook: Merchants offer treats, desserts and complete dinners
Texarkana is a treasure trove when it comes to tasty, tempting holiday treats and sweets.
Julie’s Restaurant, Catering & Bakery, Old Tyme Burger Shoppe, Graham Slam Bakery and Taste and See can make your holiday more enjoyable by doing the cooking and baking. They can also offer specially made products as gifts.
Julie’s in Summerhill Square offers holiday dinners with a choice of ham, turkey or tenderloin, complete with dressing and sweet potatoes for a gathering of two or more, said Jennifer Tanner, executive chef.
But hurry, as the last day to order the holiday meal is Friday, Dec. 18.
A cake Julie’s is offering for the holidays has an icy blue frosting and it can be made with vanilla, chocolate or red velvet cake inside, she said.
Julie’s also offers gifts for the foodie on your list.
For those wanting a close-to-home creation, the restaurant and bakery offers Taste of Arkansas and Taste of Texas baskets on its website. Each basket is sourced with regional and local products. Personal shopper Kat Stone can help those who cannot come into Julie’s or do not feel comfortable doing so, Tanner said. Stone can help select products for a custom gift basket. And customers can even drop by a bottle of wine to add to the goody basket for their friends and family.
Also, Julie’s has senior hours at 9 a.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and that has been quite popular, Tanner said.
For those needing neighbor or teacher gifts, Julie’s also offers gift cards in every denomination.
Another longtime, hometown favorite, Old Tyme Burger Shoppe, can help if you need the dressing or pies made for the holidays.
Their small order of dressing with giblet gravy serves about 10 people and the large order of dressing serves about 25, said owner Randy Thomas.
To finish off the meal, Old Tyme Burger Shoppe is offering chocolate, coconut and buttermilk pies. Special holiday pie flavors include pumpkin and pecan.
Orders for dressing and pies must be placed by 2 p.m. Dec. 23, Thomas said.
And, ringing in the new year marks 30 years in business for Old Tyme Burger Shoppe at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Arkansas Boulevard.
The business rolls with the changing times, opening a to-go window this year that has been successful for pickup orders, Thomas said.
For those eating in or taking out, Old Tyme Burger Shoppe offers a soup of the day to warm you up in cooler weather. Soups offered include taco, bell pepper, potato and gumbo.
This year’s craze at Graham Slam Bakery is hot cocoa bombs, a chocolate sphere that contains hot cocoa mix and marshmallows, said Emily Graham, owner.
The sphere dissolves when placed in a mug containing hot water or warm milk. The marshmallows rise to the top, offering a decadent cup of hot cocoa.
A staple item at Graham Slam, located in downtown Texarkana near the Bi-State Justice Building, is the sugar cookie for Christmas. The cookie recipe won “good Morning America’s” Best Christmas Cookie in America title in 2017.
Graham Slam has a wide variety of sugar-free and gluten-free cupcakes for people who might have diabetes or gluten allergies, Graham said.
For Christmas week, Graham Slam is offering breakfast casseroles with sausage, egg and cheese. It’s made from Graham’s mother’s recipe. The deadline for ordering casseroles is Friday.
Across town on Richmond Road, Taste and See offers about 20 different kinds of popular cookies. Other sweet offerings include cakes, cheese balls, fudge and truffles, said Shelly Vetor, owner.
Taste and See also offers the Colossal Cupcake that is elaborately decorated.
Julie’s Restaurant, Catering and Bakery: 4055 Summerhill Square, (903) 792-3354.
Old Tyme Burger Shoppe: 1205 Arkansas Blvd., (870) 772-5775
Graham Slam Bakery : 212 Pine St., (870) 330-9132
Taste and See, 2838 Richmond Road, Suite B, (903) 792 - 1468.